The Mysterious Mediator in the Machzor for Rosh HaShanah
What if I told you that written plainly within the prayer book for Rosh Hashanah, the Machzor, just before sounding the shofar, a special prayer mentions Yeshua Sar HaPanim – Jesus – Prince of the Presence? [1] Was Jesus ‘name preserved within this ancient Jewish prayer?
“May it be your will before you that at the sounding of the Tekiah, Shevarim, Teruah, that we are blowing, that it will be woven into the curtain by the appointed one, (Tartiel) according to the name that you received by Elijah (remembered for Good) Yeshua The Prince of the Presence, and the Prince Metatron, and that you will fulfill upon us mercy. Blessed are you lord of mercy.”[2] Machzor Rabah Rosh Hashanah, Ashkanazi tradition, Pg . 168
It is important to note that this is a Rabbinic prayer mentions several mysterious individuals. To properly understand the prayer we must uncover ancient sources. So we begin by asking, is this Yeshua of the prayer, the same Yeshua mentioned in the Gospels? If this is the same Yeshua, how could his name remain so long within a Rabbinic prayer without being noticed? According to Professor Yehuda Liebes of the Hebrew University, the prayer in the Machzor of the Ashkanazi tradition dates to the Middle Ages. The name Yeshua within the prayer can be traced however to earlier hand-written books. One such book is called “Sefer HaCheshek”.[3] Some have tried to give explain away the appearance of the name Yeshua with various explanations. Some have even claimed the Church secretly put it there at the time of the printing press. Others argue that it is a corruption of a different name; the list goes on. However, Professor Liebes gives a number of obvious objections to these claims.
- The idea that the Christians would have been able to insert this name into such an integral segment of Jewish literature at the time of the printing press without it being noticed by the Jewish community is not within the realm of possibility.
- The name of Yeshua within the Jewish community was shortened to ‘Yeshu’ in Talmudic and Rabbinic literature. Use of his full name would have been highly unusual, except if it had been a remnant from a much earlier period in Jewish history.
- Yeshua’s name is found is earlier handwritten books that were decidedly not available to the Christian community nor in their ability to tamper with.
It is likely that the source of Yeshua’s name in the prayer comes from an ancient source, reflective of an internal memory of Yeshua within the Jewish community.[4] Professor Liebes argues that it dates to a time before Jewish Believers in Yeshua were separated from the larger Jewish community.[5] Keep in mind that throughout the last decades of the Second Temple, Yeshua’s Jewish followers continued to worship in the Temple, pray in synagogues, and observed Torah.[6] A prayer remembering Yeshua’s atoning and mediating work, especially connected to Rosh Hashanah, likely entered the liturgy before the destruction of the Second Temple. But now we turn our attention to the other figures mentioned in the prayer. Does their inclusion support this being Yeshua of Nazareth?
A Trinity of Witnesses?
We see the mysterious angel Tartiel within the prayer, and afterwards three individuals:
- Elijah,
- Yeshua, Prince of the Presence
- Prince Metatron.
In Rabbinic literature Enoch is sometimes connected and identified with the Metatron. Enoch walked with God and was physically taken to Heaven without dying. If Enoch is the Metatron, then there is a trinity of individual who have something in common. These three all ascended into Heaven in bodily form.
Yeshua as the Metatron
A second view of the Metatron is mentioned by Daniel Abrams of the Hebrew University. He points out that some scholars believe Yeshua and the Metatron refer to the same individual and not a separate messenger.[7] The figure known as the Metatron appears in the Talmud in Sanhedrin 39b. Here he is mentioned as having the divine name, the tetragrammaton, within him.[8] He is the one who, according to tradition and midrashim, Rabbi Elisha b. Abuyah saw seated on a throne when he and three others ascended into Paradise. This caused Rabbi Abuyah to assume there were two supreme powers in heaven. For this Abuyah was deemed a heretic. The Talmudic text also attribute the Angel of the Lord of Exodus with the Metatron, “Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.” Exodus 23: 21 This verse is also reference to the “Angel of his Presence” (Malach HaPanim) who saved and redeemed Israel. (Isaiah 63: 9) These verses have long been understood to refer to Yeshua by Christian theologians. Prof. Liebes points out that this early prayer, which he attributes to the early Jewish believers, also connected Yeshua with the Metatron. While the identity of this figure remains mysterious, there may be a hint to his function within the etymology of his name. Metatron seems to derive from the Greek μετὰ θρóνος (meta thronos), “one who serves behind the throne” or “one who occupies the throne next to the throne of glory”.[9]
Yeshua, Sar HaPanim. (Prince of the Face)
The name “Sar HaPanim” or “Prince of the Presence” is described in Isaiah 63:9 as the “Angel of His Presence”, who saved Israel. This angel was given access to the presence of the Almighty and was the agent of salvation for the people of Israel in their Exodus from Egypt.[10] The text in Isaiah is literally the ‘Angel of His Face’, meaning the Face of God. Historically the Angel of the Presence has been understood by Christians as a pre-incarnate appearance of Yeshua the Messiah. To find such parallels to the figure in the Machzor (Prayer Book) is amazing. That the mysterious figure “Yeshua, Sar HaPanim” has access to the presence of God is significant, for it can also be understood that he is the exact representation of the face of the Almighty. Note New Covenant scriptures concerning Yeshua:
“he that hath seen me hath seen the Father”, John 14: 9 KJV
“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person”, Heb. 1: 3 KJV
“For Christ (Messiah) is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:”, Heb. 9: 24 KJV
Today in Israel, the title of “Sar HaP’nim” describes the Minister of the Interior. He is responsible for, among other things, citizenship, and entry into the country. The word “panim” meaning face or presence is also the Hebrew root P’nim meaning interior. In theological terms, this ancient prayer spoke of one with authority to approach the interior of Heaven. Only by coming to the Sar Hapanim, can we come boldly into the presence of God. Just as the Holy of Holies in the Temple was separated by a curtain, the most holy place of Heaven, according to the prayer and the New Testament is separated by a curtain, in Hebrew, “parochet”.[11] The Machzor prayer petitions that with the sounding of the shofar, prayers for atonement will be carried through the parochet / the curtain to the Almighty. The book of Hebrews in the New Covenant describes Yeshua’s authority to go behind the curtain on our behalf as our great High Priest.
“We have this hope as an anchor for our lives. It is safe and sure, and goes through the curtain of the heavenly temple in the inner sanctuary. On our behalf Yeshua has gone in there before us and has become a high priest forever, in the priestly order of Melchizedek.” Heb. 6: 19-20
“For Messiah is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us:” Heb. 9: 24.
There is none who can see God face to face like the “Sar HaPanim”. Yeshua speaks on our behalf, face to face, with the King of all the earth. He has the access, and through Him we also gain access to the throne room.
After sounding the shofar, the Machzor gives a second prayer which reveals the reason for calling upon these messengers Elijah, Yeshua and the Metatron. The prayer petitions the LORD God to allow these messengers to ascend with the sounding of the shofar, “before the throne of your glory, and they will recommend good on our behalf to atone for all of our sins.”[12]
What an amazing prayer, that one named “Yeshua”, the Sar HaPanim, should approach the throne and petition forgiveness on behalf of those who pray this prayer!
The first century Jewish writer Paul revealed that there is indeed one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Yeshua the Messiah. He gave himself as an atonement for all people.[13] If late first century Jewish believers were the source of Yeshua’s name in this prayer, then it serves as an additional testimony to their faith in Yeshua as the mediator between God and man.
Conclusion:
Though this prayer may have been modified through the centuries, the reference to Yeshua as a mediator between God and man, and his atoning mediation during the holy season of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur has been retained from the first century Jewish believers. Prof. Liebes notes, “Was Yeshua the one referred to here the Notzri? It is very difficult to argue otherwise….” [14] While the Machzor only briefly speaks of this role, the Jewish writers of the New Testament paint a clear picture of Messiah’s role as the Redeemer for all who will call upon his name.
“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them.” Heb. 7: 25
Many during the high holy days will read this ancient prayer. We encourage all to discover the full picture of Yeshua as recorded in the first century Jewish writings – the New Testament.
[1] Pg. 168 מחזור רבא, ראש השנה. נוסח אשכנז – אשכול ירושלים
[2] Pg. 168 מחזור רבא, ראש השנה. נוסח אשכנז – אשכול ירושלים (my translation)
[3] Liebes, Yehudah. “מלאכי קול השופר וישוע שר הפנים.” https://liebes.huji.ac.il/files/sarhapanim.pdf. 15
[4] Liebes, Yehudah. “מלאכי קול השופר וישוע שר הפנים.” https://liebes.huji.ac.il/files/sarhapanim.pdf. 8
[5] Yehuda Liebes – pg. 13
[6] See Acts 21: 20
[7] The Boundaries of Divine Ontology : The Inclusion and Exclusion of Meṭaṭron in the Godhead. By: Abrams, Daniel, Harvard Theological Review, 00178160, July 1, 1994, Vol. 87, Issue 3 Pg. 116-121 (Metatron and Jesus)
[8] “Meṭaṭron bears the Tetragrammaton”; http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10476-matatron
[10] Exodus 23: 20
[11] Liebes, מלאכי קול השופר וישוע שר הפנים.pg. 6. (בכתב יד בודלי הנ”ל בהערה 18) הגרסה: “וכששומע”)
[12] “ובכן יהי רצון מלפניך יי אלוהינו ואלוהי אבותינו שיעלו אלו המלאכים היוצאים מן השופר ומן התקיעה ומן השברים ומן התרועה ומן תשר”ת ומן תש”ת ומן תר”ת לפני כשא כבודך וימליצו טוב בעדנו לכפר על כל חטאתינו” עמוד 169 מחזור רבא נוסח אשכנז.
[13] See I Timothy 2: 5-6, New Testament
[14] “האמנם ישוע הנזכר כאן הוא הנוצרי? קשה מאד לטעון אחרת. ראשית, איפה יש אחר? ושנית, אין כמוהו מתאים להיות שלישי לאליהו ולחנוך הוא מטטרון, שאף הוא כמוהם דמות ידועה של בשר ודם, שנתעלה אחרי מותו למעלת מלאך והמסורת היהודית-נוצרית העתיקה אף קשרה בקשרים נוספים בין דמותו ודמויותיהם של אליהו וחנוך; אבל בכך נדון בהמשך, כשנעסוק בדרכים שדרכם התגלגל שמו של ישוע אל כתביהם של חסידי אשכנז.” ליבס, “מלאכי קול השופר וישוע שר הפנים”, עמודים 13,14